Cold and damp this morning :(

On the way home it was lovely, went home through more traffic than usual:confused: got home then decided that it was too nice to stay indoors so I jumped on the bike again and cycled to the school to meet my kids as they came out.

August like weather here in Maine last week. We are now back into the wet, cooler fall weather. It was 51 F when I headed out this morning, now hovering around 57 F as I ponder heading home. A nice slow rain awaits me.

Beautiful commute this morning, but quite chilly! I've got to get some long-fingered gloves. Besides that, I was okay in shorts and jersey, even though it was about 40 degrees. (I'm the kind of person who wears shorts until November.)

Had to stop once to put new batteries in my light (gotta get rechargeables!) and twice to adjust my rear derailleur, so I made terrible time. But it was a very enjoyable ride with light traffic and not much wind.

Tim

A great start this morning! I fell off my bike on the street in front of my neighbor's house! - Looking at my watch instead of where I was going, lost control in some loose gravel (road being re-constructed) No injuries or damage it was a slow capsize, and my feet came out of the toe clips even though I was horizontal.
Then I had to wait for a slow moving 99 car (I might have missed one or two) freight train. I noticed that not one of the cars & trucks waiting shut off their idling engines for the 7 or 8 minutes it took for the train to pass! (I always shut mine off when waiting)
Today's weather: temp between 2c at home and 5c near Lake Ontario (water temp is still fairly warm, warms up air temp in the vicinity), slight head wind. I was wearing t-shirt, plus long sleeve t-shirt, windbreaker, track pants over my shorts and cotton work gloves over my bike gloves. Everything was comfy, except my backpack would't allow the windbreaker vents to work, so I was a little too warm.
I tried my new Planet Bike Dual Spot LED/Halogen (cost around $20.00) on the very dark unlit bike trail - Works very well, seems to be the ideal solution for me (mostly well lit streets where LED blinkie is sufficient, short stretch of total darkness where the Halogen light is great) This also has a quick release so it's easy to put on different bikes.

It was a bright blue sky and 31 F when I took off this morning. One of those many falls days which make Maine a great place to live. The leaves have not started turing quite yet, but I look forward to that (other than the wet leaves on the road). I also wear shorts until November, but put on my Northface Gore-tex pants, a wind bloc fleece over my biking shirt and wind bloc gloves. I was a tad warm, other than my toes (was wearing running shoes). Looking forward to the colder temps and snow.

:)

Looks like no commuting for me for a few days: a stupid 2-year-old knocked over my bike and another headlight smashed. :mad:

I think I will buy a cheap Walmart one to tide me over till my LBS manages to get hold of the new 5-LED cateye...their supplier has them on backorder, they were more popular than expected. Sigh....

oooh, a little chilly today - maybe autumn has finally arrived in the DC area - must have been in the 40s - time to search for my warm clothes - great ride though.....

For the first morning since May, it felt like something other than summer here in DC. 52 F (12 C), clear skies, a 14 mph wind out of the NE. Not yet jacket weather, but heading there, I love experiencing the change of the seasons.

Paul

I'm having one of thoese days that seems like a Monday where everything that can go wrong is.
The commute was nice though. It's getting cold but I was well bundled up. I dropped my headphones and had to search in the dark with my headlamp to find it on the street.
And I had my first close call. A car full of high-schoolers tried to roll through a stop sign but then suddendly saw me. I slammed on my brakes and was able to stop in time. The car panicked and decided to finish running through the stop sign and almost hit a truck.
I really wish they would raise the drivers age from the age of 15 here.

Nice ride in. Through a logistical snag I ended up riding my roadie in today from home (20 miles). It was dark, dark, dark when I left and my roadie's not outfitted with all the snazzy lights ... just a "be seen" flasher on the front and the obligatory flasher in the back. Still, the first part of my trip is very quiet and there was no danger. Great ride overall.

My wife got up and went to work out. I thought about getting up early and making my commute long. I did not. My dog stayed on her bed and I opened my eyes to discover it was 7:58 am.....Doh, I guess I better go to work.

Ride in was foggy and cool. I passed at least 100 cars on my way.....Poor bastards. Every once in a while, one of them is me.

Peace :cool:

Ditto :)

Pretty good commute today with the added bonus that on the way home , I passed the Electricians who were fixing the lights on a path I use.

It's been pitch black and very difficult to see.

Finally got to ride into work today, after being out of town since last Thursday. It's amazing how quickly your endurance erodes. Still a good ride, but a little warm. The highs are near 90F for the next few days... Oh well. I think the bike had missed me!

It looks like mine was was one of the warmer rides, is it was in the 50's F here this morning. Good rides, both to and from work both days. Yesterday I took the "back route," and turned my normally 3.75 mile ride into a 10 miler, for about 14 total miles. Today, I simply came back home, but enjoyed the ride very much.

Our Fall has not yet resulted in many leaves falling. The days are considerably shorter though, with the sun low. Yesterday it was out, and I wore my safety/sun glasses for the return ride. 'Saw a lot of people out in one of the community parks, and lots of kid's soccor is being played. I stopped yesterday to watch, and I think it's more entertaining to watch these pretty young players than the World Cup, as where the ball goes is much more unpredictable. One of the side-advantages cycling affords us is the ability to simply stop and enjoy spontatious happenings, a soccor game, kids playing in the street, or the boy who was being towed on his skateboard by his dog yesterday. Cars go too quickly to really see, observe, and of course in a car you cannot hear, or smell, what's happening around you either. But on a bicycle, it's all there for the takin' in.

John

I got to ride in after all. :)

I stopped at Wally World during my errand-runing today, but couldn;t bring myself to pay 10-14 dollars for one of their cheap-looking lights. I got some epoxy, though, and managed to glue my headlight together well enough so that it works.

Major headwinds going in, which died before I went home.:mad: Apart from that, it was a great day--bright, sunny, not too cold.

Ride home was fast. I had a run of good luck with the stop lights. So much so that I practically didn't stop until about halfway through the commute (10 miles).

Had a lovely ride in this morning. After hearing on the radio that it was going to be windy, I think it was actually all right. Course, that probably means headwinds for later! :)

My mind was wandering (as it has a tendancy to do whilst cycling), and as I thought everyday I cross the Ouse (the river I cross, about 4 miles in) I realised how much that sounded like everyday I sing the blues. I think I managed a couple of verses too before my mind wandered off again!

Ellie

My ride home last night was one of my best ever! I modified the first 2/3 of my route in order to avoid a dirt trail that my road bike doesn't like too well. I was delighted to find that the roads I chose were well-paved, less hilly, and had very light traffic, a major improvement over my old route.

There are only two difficulties with this route, though. At one point, there's a poorly-designed intersection across a minor highway. (I got off the bike and walked because I didn't undersand the traffic flow; now that I understand it, I will try it on my bike.) At another point, I have to merge onto a busy 4-lane road and then immediately turn left across all 4 lanes of traffic.

Alas, I have to drive the car for the next few days. Hopefully I'll be back on the bike Friday!

Tim

Woke up this morning feeling groggy and lazy, I forced myself into the shower, then ate breakfast and dressed in my winter bike clothes, I loaded the bike and went out into the 33 degree morning air to start my ride into work. Along the way I learned that, I should have worn my warmer shoe covers, warmer hat and fleece under my windbreaker. The ride was slow and easy with light traffic, I heard willdlife in the tree line along the road most of the way in but saw none. When i got to work I felt better and am glad I rode in instead of being weak and driving the truck.

Tim, I ride in the dark most of the year, I spent a fortune on cheap lights and batteries, I tried the rechargable batteries for a while but they were a pain also, they don't seem to last as long as regular batteries. Three years ago i bought a nightride classic light set with tail light, it's the best thing I've ever done. It's bright, the battery never goes dead and it only takes 1.5 hours to fully recharge. I labored over the expense for a long time, if you are a regular commuter and your commute is in the dark, it's the best money you will spend. The light truely lights your way, if you wreck one set of wheels due to poor lighting causing you to run in a large hole, or crashing because of poor visibility, you will more than pay for the light set.

A beautiful sunny ride home last evening, I think I'll try and leave work on time today to catch a little more sun. It is getting low in the sky, long shadows early.
This morning's temp 7C, 45F - just shorts and long sleeve t-shirt today, a little chilly the first couple of blocks, ok after that. Stayed on the roads today, (almost zinged another cat on the bike path yesterday) uneventful (didn't fall off my bike today) but still interesting 12 km ride.
I found out later that there was a casualty from yesterday's fall off my bike in front of my neighbor's house - my cell phone must have fallen off my belt when I hit the ground, I didn't notice until I got to work. I called my phone, a construction worker answered - It had been driven over by a car or two, still works but is all mushed up - I guess I'll have to get a new one.

Beautiful ride in this morning. Temp was in the 60s (F). I seemed to be following Hansel and Gretal for a few miles though. Instead of bread they left a trail of nails and wood screws in the bike lane (bet those birds won't eat those!). I had a wonderful tailwind most of the way which was really nice because I have been off of the bike for 4 days (not by choice mind you, I have just been very busy and most of my errands were way beyond my ability to ride that far). Hit a lot of lights after an 8 mile section of passing all of them.

A strong head wind on my morning commute this morning turned a 15 minute commute into 18 minutes, it might not sound much but boy that wind was strong.

On the way home ran over some glass and made a mess of my tyre, it cut clean through the tyre and thread inside.

I've tried to patch it up but when I inflate the tyre it just gapes open:( .

So to get me to work tomorrow I've put the spare tyre I had on, pity it's a front tyre, which means I have a front tyre on the front and back wheel.

The weather here could not be more pleasant. With my office's seasonal slowdown, I'm not kiling myself to get in early so I'm enjoying the ride. I think tomorrow I'm going to stop for an espresso at a cafe I pass by everyday. Life is good.

I'd like to leave early enough to get in an extra 10-20 on the way to work but I hate to have to put the pup out while it's still dark. I suppose she'd survive but those big brown eyes just kill me.

Going long on the way home isn't an option this week, either, what with the Giants game starting at 5:20pm California time.

:) Well I did my first commute to work today. It was about 40 and overcast- just the weather I like. Its only about 4 miles on 2 lane roads past a couple of schools and a small business park. The ride was going good until a school bus ran me off the road. Of all vehicles I couldnt believe a school bus. Oh well. I put my bike inside the building- not a good idea. I drive a truck so I am out all day making deliveries. I got back in late and the building was locked. I had to call my wife and have her come and pick me up.( she just got off work). I think I will get a walmart special so I can lock it up outside. Well, it can only get better. :thumbup:

Born2mtb, it will get better. Keep with it. Be very visible and very safe. Congratulations on your first day.